


chords that flit about the air

by rayline



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Anyways, F, M/M, RIP, basically life has it out for dirk even out of canon, dirk fucks with time so time fucks him back, im terrible at writing jake english so please bare with me, the first chapter is god awful but i swear it gets better, you push against the wall the wall pushes back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:28:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23502370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayline/pseuds/rayline
Summary: Dirk Strider finds himself stuck 400 years in the past, the times when kings and queens ruled every corner of the earth. What's even worse, is that he looks like the older brother of the heir to the throne. The older brother that went missing so many years ago.Invariably, his presence starts a few wars.Dirk drags himself into a mess he doesn't know how to get out of.A little hope goes a long way, you know.
Relationships: Jake English/Dirk Strider
Comments: 11
Kudos: 12





	chords that flit about the air

Dusk dissolved into night, night melted into dawn. Dirk sat hunched against the broken machine, rubbing his eyes but unable to lull himself to sleep. Bags dragged down his eyes and his sunglasses lay discarded in a nearby patch of dewy grass. His hands stayed glued to his face as his eyes adjusted to the light of the rising sun. Gleams of yellow, orange and red bounced off the trees and any other object. For a moment, he stared a the sun, before wincing and turning away. Yup, at least that was unchanging throughout the passage of time.

He pushed himself up, suppressing a yawn and glancing around the forest. Chirps flitted about the forest roof, and Dirk dragged himself away from the discarded machine. His eyes floated around the surrounding area.

This was not according to plan.

The plan Dirk had constructed was to go back only a single year.

But there weren't any trees left in the 22nd century. There were no forests.

Something had malfunctioned and left Dirk farther back in time than he meant to go.

A string of curses unthreaded themselves from Dirks thought process and into his voice, as he walked back over to the toppled metal can that brought him here. Sure, it was a rather unattractive and comical looking thing, but it worked. It worked, not in an expected manner, but it worked.

He heaved a sigh and worked to place it upright, kicking his glasses aside. With a heavy grunt, he managed to lift it upright. He skidded around to the back of it, a flap hanging open in the back where oil leaked from the back, wires stood, flickering with flakes of fire and some straight-up broken into two. Not to mention, the central component of it all looked half burnt and steam was rising from it. The fact this thing wasn't outright imploding right now was some sort of miracle.

Nonetheless, Dirk took a few steps back, grabbed his glasses and walked further into the forest, past where the scorched machine and the burnt grass lay. He slipped on his glasses steadily and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back down at his gloves and seeing how parts of the ends were burning up.

He scoffed and ripped them off of his hands, tossing them aside. He walked further into the thicket of trees, grass crunching under his shoes and the morning dew soaking into the sole of the heels of his shoes. He paid no mind to it, however, as he spotted a cliff overhang by the edge of the forest. He increased his pace to reach there, spotting the light dancing through the trees several feet away.

He stood at the edge of the precipice, looking down and around him. At the bottom sat a field surrounded by trees. The entirety of the field, however, was overlaid by a large city. Complete with high walls and a castle in the middle, Dirk's eyes focused onto a flag, waving in the air high above the castle. He squinted through his glasses, eventually tearing them off his face and wincing at the bright sun, but still able to see the city flag clearly.

Ah, fuck.

The wind howled around Dirk. The fields around the castle sit empty, even the occasional farm. Only birds songs fill the air. Small specks of people are able to be seen, but not many are there, up at this time of day. Light skims the opened city.

You have a feeling it's going to be a long day.

~

Dirk clasped his hands behind his neck, dragging out a sigh that spoke a few too many words. Words he really didn't want to share aloud. Words he couldn't quite share with anyone aloud.

He carried himself back to the clearing into which he appeared, tapping his leg against the ground and frown adopting onto his face. In order to get back, he'd have to rework if not rebuild the machine. Thankfully, the blueprints were still in his back pocket. But without the materials, the knowledge of where he was, and the knowledge of when he landed, it would take a very long time.

He glanced out in front of him, a slope down the cliff carved into the side of the land. He kicked the machine frustratedly, a few sparks flying and hissing from it as he retracted his foot. Carefully, he backed away and onto the path in front of him.

His feet rolled onto the path, and he dug through his pockets for anything of use. Besides the blueprints scrunched up into his left pocket, all there was were a few crumbs and a dulled pencil. He continued forward on the grassy path, continuing to observe his surroundings until he made it down to the bottom of the slope.

The wall stood solidly in front of him, and to both his sides, farms blocked off both exits. With a heavy heave of his breath and a spin on his heels, he turned around back up the slope, finding his way back into the forest.

And so he wandered. Slowly, at first, before becoming frustrated with the number of trees and not enough paths.

He ran a hand along the bark of the thicket, slumping down against a tree trunk after god knows how many hours of just circling this forest that half encircled this large city.

He let out a stream of air from his mouth, placing the back of his head onto the tree and hearing his neck crack a bit. His hands clasped around his knees as he pulled them towards his chest, eyes lazily glazing over the forest roof.

Then the sound of hoofs tapping against the ground drew Dirk out of his resting state and back up onto his feet. Quickly drawing himself to the sound, he found himself on the edge of a cobblestone road that led down the cliff towards… a gate. He let out a sigh of relief and glanced to the other side, observing the traveller sitting atop his horse and dragging a cart behind him.

Dirk walked over to him carefully. The traveller took notice of him and pulled his reins backwards quickly. The horse neighed and abruptly stopped as the traveller looked at him. “What do you need, boy?”

“I was wondering if you happened to have a map.”

“Yeah, I got a map. It ain’t for sale though. So bugger off.” He clicked his tongue to move his horse on along again. “What’s with the clothes, anyway?”

Before he had time to respond though, the traveller continued on the cobblestone path, hooves beating against the ground. His lips turned downwards into a frown as he retreated back into the woods. Not too far, only enough to see the traveller travelling towards the gate, saying a few things to the guards standing outside it, and getting inside.

Then Dirk emerged from the trees and started down the pathway. 

To be fair, he stayed off to the edge of the pathway, not particularly fond of having several individuals eyes on him. Someone who stuck out like a sore thumb around these parts, apparently. Well, excuse him for not looking like he was wearing a tailored potato sack. 

He reached the gate quickly enough, though the guards had taken notice of him before he did. They stood in front of the gate, a few inches taller and rigid as statues. 

He tried to take a few steps forwards, towards the open gates, before one guard stepped in front of him in one stride and placed his hand on his sword.

“And what do you think you are doing, boy?”

“Requesting you allow me in.”

Their eyes narrowed and their eyebrows twitched downwards. Their eyes flicked him up and down and then relaxed their shoulders ever so slightly.

“You don’t look to be of these parts. Where do you come from?”

“The neighbouring Kingdom.” Dirk lied, smoothly. 

“Alternia?”

“Yes,” Dirk had no idea what a fucking ‘Alternia’ was but if he could stick this half-thought through lie out, it was alright.

“You certainly don’t look like a troll.”

Hold on. Scratch the record for a second. Troll? They had trolls back then too? 

This certainly wasn’t recorded in any history books.

Where the fuck was he, anyway?

“You misunderstand. I am no troll, I only grew up there. Adopted by my two parents who were killed last week in a fire.”

Their eyes narrowed as if searching his face for any sign of a lie. Likely was the case, all things considered. Dirk moulded his face into one of sorrow, though he had no idea if it was convincing or not, mainly because he was basing it off disgust. 

The guard kept their eyes locked onto Dirk then turned to the other guard. Words strung out of his mouth, but it was in a tongue Dirk certainly couldn’t recognize.

What about him made the guards so cautious?

Maybe it was the clothing. Perhaps before he hopped into the machine he should’ve put on a paper bag. Maybe that would’ve been more convincing. 

“What’s your name, boy?”

His gut turned with the feeling he was about to make a mistake.

“Dirk Strider.”

For 3 seconds both guards stared at him incredulously, their eyebrows strung high on their faces and hands hovering above their swords.

Then everything moved in a flash. A sword was drawn against his neck and one guard was pulling out a piece of rope.

“Hey hey, Woah, I mean no harm. Please, I’ve been without food and water for days now.”

“You dare mock the kingdom of Skaia in such an attempt?”

“What?” Dirk blinked. “I apologise, did I say something of offence to you?”

“No, only the fact you are mocking the death of the once heir to the throne.”

_ What. _

Dirks mind spun confusedly. Threads of knowledge unravelled themselves from his mind as his thoughts halted for a second, before speeding up and flashing in his mind at the speed of light.

“I apologise? I didn’t realise my name was quite such a sensitive topic.”

The sword tilted up and pressed against the side of Dirk’s neck slightly, inciting a slight bit of panic to bubble.

“You are a fool to believe so.”

“I’m not quite following here.”

“Do you believe we are idiots as to believe you? You could use a thousand names and yet you use the name of a dead child. If I was the queen, I’d consider this treason. Disrespectful is what you are. We do not tolerate your likes here.”

If Dirk wasn’t about to get relieved of his head, perhaps he would’ve made a disgusted face, perhaps a confused one. 

“I’m still confused.”

The other guard circled around behind him, tying what Dirk assumed to be a piece of rope around his wrists rather tightly.

The guard furrowed their eyebrows low. “Don’t play the part of the fool.” He motioned to the other guard with his head. “Take off this boy’s ridiculous glasses.”

The guard tugged the rope tightly in place and moved to take off his glasses.

“My glasses are not,” He moved his head ever so slightly out of the way, “A fashion accessory. My eyes are sensitive to the light, so I’d much prefer you allow me to keep my sight and rather not a permanent headache, assuming I don’t get my head chopped off.”

The guard’s face returned back to the stony expression they had when Dirk first started speaking to them. “If you are who you say you are, then we need to take you to the King.”

The king? Fuck no,  ** fuck  ** no. 

And that was when Dirk just decided this whole situation was too much bullshit for him to comprehend.

“You’re right, you’re right I admit. I’ve lied.”

“About what?”

He paused for a second, tilting his head up to look the guard in the eyes. 

“That I mean no harm.”

He moved his head out of the way and ducked as he snapped his leg back into the other guard behind him, kicking him in the private parts and ducking out of the way of the sword. Emerging on the other side of the drawn blade, he roundhouse kicked the other guard in a swift motion, hearing the moans of pain coming from the guard previously behind him. (CEO of no kids)

The guard drew back his sword, clutching his side a bit and moving for his sword. Dirk ducked and swept his leg, hearing him crash to the ground.

Not very good balance, for a guard.

Then Dirks’s feet pushed up and off the ground and he was running (rather comically from an outsiders perspective) back up the cobblestone path.

He emerged back into the forest, the guard with the sword clanging loudly behind him.

His feet pressed forwards, pushing off the ground. Sure, running was his forte but not on steep ground.

Rounding a few trees to better gain an advantage on the guard, he nearly halted once he arrived back into the clearing he arrived in.

Turning behind him and hearing the distant clanging of heavy armour, Dirk continued forwards onto the first path he discovered, breaking into a sprint and turning to the nearest house he could spot. This house was a bit small and had a field in front of it. He rounded the field quickly and skated around the corners of the house towards the back, crouching and hiding behind a pile of hay bales. 

Indistinct chatter filled the air rather than heavy armour clanging, and Dirk allowed himself a breath to turn his head to look at the two voices. Exiting the house was a frail-looking old lady and (probably) her grandson. Dirk glanced at them for a moment, idly chatting before the grandmother’s eyes locked onto him. She raised an eyebrow at him, her grandson facing him as well.

Dirk pressed his lips together. Uh. Not part of the plan, either. 

Honestly, he hates improvising, and so far today has been quite the improvisation act. 

“And who might you be, young man?” The grandmother asked, cautiously.

“My name isn’t of importance right now,” And that apparently it’s also offensive,

“And what is?” She raised her eyebrows high onto her forehead. 

"The fact there's a guard generously offering to free my shoulders of my head a bit behind me. So if you can find it in your heart, please assist me."

The grandmother looked at him for a moment then barked out a laugh, adjusting the circular glasses on her face. “What for?”

“Not quite sure. Was too pressed about having a blade to my throat to fully comprehend what they were saying.” 

The grandmother snorted a light laugh and detached herself from her grandson’s arm, walking closer towards Dirk. She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve had a few run-in’s with those darned guards in my prime too. There’s a shed,” She pointed behind her towards a small shed-like building only barely attached to the house. “Over there, I’ll keep the guards away, you have my word.” Her eyes stuck onto him for a moment, almost staring Dirk back into his eyes before nodding her head. “Well, what’re you waitin’ for? I hear that darned armour even with my old ears!”

Dirk nodded and stood up, running towards the shed and slipping inside of it, spotting a cardboard box in the darkness, hidden just in front of some low hanging shelves. He crunched himself behind the box and under the shelves, hands still tied behind his back. The door closed behind him and he steadied his breathing. This wasn’t exactly the most comfortable position, nor the most guaranteed safety. A strange old woman he just met? 

Well, it was a chance Dirk was willing to take, right now.

Dirk sat in the dark silence of the shed for a long while, forcing his ears to hear past the occasional clang of armour and the grandmother’s voice.

Then light filtered into the room as the door swung open. Guards armour clanged in the doorway.

Well, he was done for.

“See? I told you I don’t have no runaway around these parts. Now get off my property and scram. Harassing an old lady, what manners does this generation even have anymore?” The grandmother’s voice struck in through the room, Dirk’s breathing quiet and shallow.

The guard’s footsteps walked a bit forwards into the room, then walked out. The door shutting behind him.

Then Dirk waited a little longer.

Then the door swung open once more, a little less harshly this time. And the voice of the grandmother filtered in. “It’s alright son, they’re gone now.”

Dirk gently removed himself from the tight hiding space, squinting at the light for a second then refocusing on the grandmother.

“Thank you.” He nodded, rolling his shoulders and remembering his tied hands. “If it’s not too much trouble, do you believe I could borrow a knife? To untie myself, of course.”

The grandmother nodded her head to the shelves Dirk was previously crunched under. “Got plenty on that back shelf. Though, I doubt you could do it on your own.”

“Well, I don’t mean to trouble you anymore,”

“Oh no, it’s no hassle at all dearie. Jake! C’mere for a second wouldya?”

The grandson appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, eyebrows raised slightly. Dirk mentally ran a hand down his face, averting the boy’s gaze and instead focusing on the grandmother.

“Help the man, would you?” 

The boy, Jake apparently, sighed and walked over towards Dirk, taking a knife from the shelves behind him and swiftly cutting the rope in two. Dirk shook his hands free of the tight (but poorly made material) restraint and mumbled a small “thanks” as he traced the markings on his sore wrists. Jake retreated back out of the shed. 

“So what’s your name, son?” The grandmother asked. 

Dirk’s lips pressed into a thin line, as he pretended to be occupied with rubbing his thumb against his wrists while he thought of a lie.

“Dave.” He replied, eventually. 

The grandmother snorted once more, hands on her hips. “my, did they think you're impersonating the heir? what fools.” Then she stared at him for a moment. “The resemblance is there, but also not. Hm. In any case, you’d have to be blind to believe you were Dave Strider.” 

Dirk lightly raised his eyebrows in a form of agreement. “Well, glad to know someone else shares my same mindset, I suppose.”

The grandmother nodded, then continued her prodding. “Say, where are your parents?”

Dirk hesitated. This was always a tricky question. A different time or not. “It’s complicated.”

The grandmother adopted a look of understanding on her face. “Yeah, I understand. You don’t have anywhere to stay, do you?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

The grandmother looked thoughtful for a moment. “Since john left for an apprenticeship, we've been rather lacking on hands on the farm. I could offer you a room, should you promise not to get guards after your head anymore and help out on the farm. Whaddaya say to that?”

Dirk, still suspicious of this grandmothers generosity, nervously nodded his head. “I’m willing.”

She clapped her hands. “Delightful. Let me show you inside.” And so she started out of the shed, Dirk following close behind at a steady pace. Jake stood at the back door, once they entered, and Dirk slowed his pace. It looked as if Jake wanted to say something.

“Your grandmother is...nice.” He remarked, for lack of a better term. Jake shrugged.

“I believe you remind her of an old friend.” He paused, then stuck out his hand. I'm Jake, by the way, Jake English.”

Dirk nodded and cautiously shook his hand. “Dave.” He replied.

“Just Dave?”

“Dave…” He paused for the slightest second, searching for a lie. “Lalonde. Dave Lalonde.”

Jake’s eyebrows furrowed together in thought before he unfurled them and let go of Dirks’s hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, chap. Truth be told it’s been kinda hard on grandma since John left, so I’m glad you’re here to help.”

Dirk’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yeah.”

The silence filled the air again, and Dirk continued on following the grandmother until they reached a small dining room merged with a kitchen. The front door was present in front of the dining table, and to the side of the room was a hallway, the other side, a staircase. Jake walked forward after Dirk stopped, gesturing for him to follow him.

“This way. Got a spare room upstairs.”

Dirk nodded at him slightly and turned his gaze back to the grandmother (he really needed a better name to call her in his head.) Her eyes locked onto his and nodded a look of understanding. He felt like he knew here, not quite sure from where though.

He trudged up the stairs behind Jake and followed through into a hallway, stopping at a relatively empty room.

It was drenched in blue.

The carpet was blue, the covers were blue, even the walls were blue.

Dirk raised his eyebrows, a bit concerned about this rooms affinity for the colour blue. Or, John’s affinity he should say. The chance this was John’s old room was likely. 

“It’s awfully blue,” Dirk remarked, a bit taken aback.

Jake laughed. “That’s an understatement. John was always a fickle thing with the colour blue. If it wasn’t blue, it was garbage. As he would say, anyways. Drove Grandma up the wall.” His smile faded a bit. He placed his hands into his shorts pockets and glanced at Dirk, briefly. “Gosh, I just noticed. What are you wearing? Looks something straight out of Alternia.”

DIrk still had no idea what an Alternia was.

“Clothes. I’m wearing clothes.” 

Jake rolled his eyes. “You don’t say, mate? Is this all you’ve got?”

Dirk patted his pockets. “Yeah.”

Jake nodded, slowly then turned out of the room’s doorway. “Well, get yourself comfortable, Gran’ll probably make dinner soon.”

Dirk nodded then turned back to the room. He heaved out a breath then turned out the room to call Jake.

“Wait.”

Jake stopped, halfway down the stairs, hands still in his pockets and glasses halfway down his nose. “Hm?” He replied, pushing his glasses back up his face.

“What’s the date.”

“April 13th, why?”

“No, I mean the full date,” Dirk remarked.

Jake’s face moulded into one of confusion. “April 13th, 1708. Why?”

Dirk tried his hardest not to show the panic that just flooded through him. “No reason.” 

Jake nodded and trod down the stairs. Dirk ran a hand through his hair, staring at the blue soaked room, attempting to stay calm as his world crashed down around him.

He was 400 years too far back into the past.

He trod out of the room quickly, skidding into what looked to be a bathroom. He removed his glasses and pushed them off to the side. Taking some water from a bucket that sat in one corner he splashed his face with it, feeling the chilling water prick and dig into his skin. He stood up and stared at the mirror, straight back into his eyes, ever as orange.

“What have I gotten myself into now?”

**Author's Note:**

> //mngh ew. it could be loads better, could be loads worse. honestly, it's not anywhere close to my best work but it's something alright. i'm just getting out of writers block so bare with me while the story takes a bit to get interesting. thanks for reading this far, anyways. stay safe, and have a good night.  
> //now to see if i will update this within the next month  
> //also 4/13 is coming up you know what that mea-


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